carrot and stick

I want to be a teacher who change student

when I was student, I was always want to be a teacher, because I want to share valuable knowledge with others. I feel most rewarding when I explain how to solve problems to my friends. when I become 20 years old, I have a change to teach. I become a teacher at church. I have a mission to take care of 4-7 years old children. They look like angel. I gave them some pies and candy that is easy, but the problems is I have to control them. They are fly and keep talking each others. I cannot teach them about bible. It is dilemma to me. I am happy to meet children but I could not handle young boys and girls.

Today, I am 28 years old, and I am a time-media TESOL student. first, I feel rigid but I try to get better.

In the class, I get to know skinner. He is American behaviorist. He is known for operate conditioning. It concludes that human are products of their environments and all behaviors are positively reinforced, negatively reinforced, or punished. The most notable example given as evidence of this theory is Pavlov’s dogs. Pavlov would ring a bell and feed his dogs, and they would salivate. After some repetitions, pavlov noticed that whether he fed them or not, every time he rang the bell they would salivate. pavlov took this as proof that if there is a reward associated with a behavior, the behavior will eventually continue even without the reward.

This operate conditioning the behavior is followed by consequence, and the nature of the consequence modifies the organisms tendency to repeat the behavior in the future.

For example, there are a rat in a cage. That has a pedal that, when pressed, causes a little mechanism to release a food pellet into cage. The rat is bouncing around the cage, doing whatever it is rats do. when he accidentally presses the bar a food pellet falls into the cage.

A behavior followed by a reinforcing stimulus results in an increasing probability of that behavior occurring in the future.

what if you don’t give the rat any more pellets?

Apparently, he is no fool, and after a few futile attempts, he stops his bar-pressing behavior. This is called extinction of the operant behavior. A behavior no longer followed by the reinforcing stimulus results in a decreased probability of that behavior occurring in the future.

Before I met skinner’s theory, I just give all children candies no matter they are good or bad. After I study, I make some policies to apply my class in future.

Fist, I can give a big hug when children are not late.

Second, I give no homework when children understood well.

Finally, I can give candies when children get great at test.

I think education is like dating. Although I love them all, I need some techniques like push and pull.

I want to be a teacher who change student. I hope I will teach better by learning educations at TESOL school. Above all, I think teaching myself is a difficult thing but the most important thing to do.